Boys State Track
Penn earns two state titles

Penn's Kyle Johnston won a pole vault state championship.

Posted on June 3, 2012 at 1:00 a.m.

Truth Staff

BLOOMINGTON — Penn High School senior pole vaulter Kyle Johnston and the Kingsmen’s 4x100 relay team were the area’s local winners Saturday at the Indiana High School Athletic Association boys state track and field finals.

Lawrence Central won the team title with 78 points, topping second place Hamilton Southeastern by 24.5 points. Carmel was third, while Penn came home fourth with 28 total points.

Johnston’s vault of 16-1 easily earned the state title as he bested Terre Haute North’s Connor Curley (15-3) in the finals. Trey Kennedy of Westview also vaulted 15-3, but he was awarded fifth place due to the number of attempts. Kennedy’s teammate, Nathan Raber, was 10th in the evnet at 14-0.

Penn’s 4x100 relay team, which consisted of Joseph Weller, Timothy Deal, Thomas Grant and Connor Sowders, posted a time of 41.76, which was good enough to beat Lawrence Central (41.86). Deal, Grant and Sowders will all be back for the Kingsmen next season.

The top area individual finisher on the track was Fairfield’s Dillon Hinen, who came home third in the 800 with a time of 1:53.34. Gary Austin of Indianapolis Pike won the event at 1:52.17

Davonte Millsaps of Memorial finished sixth in the 100 with a time of 10.88, while also helping the Crimson Chargers’ 4x400 relay team — which won its heat — to an eighth place finish in the finals. Millsaps was joined on the team by Urston Smith, Jared Peek and Caleb Platz.

Jason Spriggs of Concord finished off a great senior year of athletics by finishing sixth in the discus with a toss of 168-1. Spriggs’ teammate, Grant Bass, was seventh in the 300 hurdles with a time of 38.95.

Thomas Grant of Penn was seventh in the 200, while the Penn 4x400 relay team of Deal, Sowders, Christian Hill and Mark Richards finished fifth.

Devan Emerson of Jimtown had a jump of 20-10 in the long jump, which was good for 22nd.